Shankar Ehsaan Loy ‘Inspiration’ US Tour
An Aman ki Asha collaboration!!
Shankar Mahadevan, who studied Western, Hindustani and Carnatic classical, was a leading playback singer with movies like Pukar, Sapnay etc. (with A R Rahman) and the mind-blowing Breathless to his credit. Ehsaan Noorani studied music at the Musicians’ Institute in Los Angeles and worked with the like of Ronnie Desai and Louis Banks. He composed Alien Desire, did several jingles and like Loy, was part of a blues-and-acid jazz band. Loy Mendonsa is trained in Western classical and also learnt the rudiments of Indian classical music. He performed with several group bands, plays (Godspell, West Side Story, Jesus Christ Superstar) and composed jingles and signature tunes
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (SEL) intially composed music for a couple of films like Rockford and Bhopal Express, but all of them went unnoticed. Their entry to mainstream cinema was with Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Mission Kashmir which was a musical hit, and earned the trio a place in the bollywood film industry. The turning point of their career as music directors was Dil Chahta Hai which was a huge success. Thereafter, they have had numerous chart busters and classics associated with them. They’re India’s premier musicians who keep up with contemporary times but still add that special sense of Indian/Hindustani classical to their music.
Each member of this trio brings his own talents and experiences to the group, combining the Carnatic and Hindustani vocal tradition (Shankar), Western rock (Ehsaan) and a deep understanding of fusion including a virtual mastery over the electronic synthesizer (Loy). They continue a tradition quite common in Bollywood music, that of partnerships between music composers contributing and pooling their individual strengths, sometimes combining deep knowledge of Hindustani (North Indian) or Carnatic (South Indian) classical music and technical expertise as composers and orchestral arrangers. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy probably represent the first ‘trio’ of music composers to entertain Bollywood audiences with their chart-topping music
Shafqat Amanat Ali, perhaps one of the most well-known vocalists in Pakistan’s current pop industry and ex-lead vocalist of one of Pakistan’s premier rock fusion bands, Fuzon. Shafqat Amanat Ali is respected among music circles due to his classically trained voice and his command over contemporary music. Ankhon Ke Saager, Khamaj, Akhiyan and Neend Na Aye are some of his most popular works. Shafqat writes and composes most of his songs. He enjoys experimenting with various styles and intends to work and fuse with musicians from diverse backgrounds, cultures and countries, maintaining the strong identity of his traditional style of Classical music.
Mahalakshmi Iyer made her singing debut with A R Rahman in Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se (1998) and the rest, as they say, is history. Incidently, She also recorded for the movie Dus, which was Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s debut as music directors. Later, she went on to work frequently with them. During her career, she was known for her performances in songs like Kabhi Sham Dhale from Sur: The Melody of Life (2002), Har Taraf from Rishtey (2002) and for hit songs like Chup Chup Ke from Bunty Aur Babli (2005), Aaj Ki Raat from Don (2006) and Bol Na Halke Halke from Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. She also sang on the Academy Award winning song “Jai Ho” for A R Rahman in the film Slumdog Millionaire (2008).
Richa Sharma belongs to the slow and steady kind. She has not sung the most number of songs but she has worked with the cream of music directors. Her career graph sounds like a list of music directors straight from the Hall of Fame – A.R. Rahman, Vishal-Shekhar, Anu Malik, Jatin-Lalit, Salim-Suleiman, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and so forth. Richa is known to have a very earthy Indian voice which resonates very well and works wonders if the song and percussion is right. Fortunately for her, she has managed to find just the right niche for herself in the industry and promises a lot of soulful numbers
All read, said and done, you just have to see them perform and mesmerize you! Be sure to book your calendars and catch them perform.
When: Saturday, July 17, 2010
Where: IZOD CENTER – 50 NJ-120, East Rutherford, NJ 07073-2131
Click here for Tickets
Contact info: 201-805-9426
When: Sunday, July 18, 2010
Where: Sky Dome/Rogers Center – 1 Blue Jays Way, Air Canada Center, 50 Bay St., Suite 500 Toronto, ON M5V 1J1, Canada
Contact Info: Mohinder Singh ,Eglinton Carpet – 416-783-1141 / 416-407-0000
When: Friday, July 23, 2010
Where: Rosemont Theater – 5400 N. River Rd, Rosemont, Illinois, 60018
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Contact Info: Sahil & LA Tan – 773-764-7576
When: Saturday, July 24, 2010
Where: Oracle Arena – 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland, California, 94621
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Contact Info: Mehta Entertainment – 510-785-2300 or 877-445-8517
When: Sunday, July 25, 2010
Where: Pne Coliseum – 100 North Renfrew Street, Vancouver, BC V5K 3N7, Canada
Contact Info: Kamal Video- 604-592-9777 or 604-833-1977
When: Friday, July 30, 2010
Where: DAR Constitution Hall – 1776 D Street, Washington, District of Columbia
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Contact Info: Meenu Sabharwal – 703-989-1289
When: Saturday, July 31, 2010
Where: Garland Special Event Center – 4999 Naaman Forest Blvd, Garland, TX 75040
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Contact Info: Mehta Production – 972-971-9095 or 972-398-3828
When: Sunday, August 1, 2010
Where: LA Forum – 3900 West Manchester Boulevard, Inglewood, CA 90305-2200
When: Friday, August 6, 2010
Where: Berry center – 8877 Barker-Cypress Rd, Cypress, Texas, 77433
Click here for Tickets
Contact Info: Rajender – 281-222-4500
When: Saturday, August 7, 2010
Where: Atlanta Civic Center – 395 Piedmont Avenue Northeast, Atlanta, GA
Contact Info: Raheem Paracha – (770) 899-4737
When: Sunday, August 8, 2010
Where: Hanover Theater, 2 Southbridge St, Worcester, MA
More Information and Tickets can be found here. Or contact: Shwetha @ 781-343-1665
When: Friday, August 13, 2010
Where: Paramount Theatre – 911 Pine Street, Seattle, WA
Contact Info: Navdeep Gill – 253-261-4455
